1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to an impact beam for a motor vehicle body, in particular to a side impact beam for a side door of a motor vehicle body, comprising a first profiled section having a three-dimensional structure and a second component that spatially closes the first profiled section.
Impact beams of the type in question are used in various locations of a motor vehicle body. They can be found as bumper brackets, pillar reinforcements for an A-pillar, B-pillars or C-pillars, as cockpit cross members, or also as bumper cross members, optionally in conjunction with crash boxes. A particular field of use for the types of impact beams in question is as side doors of motor vehicles. There, such an impact beam is provided as a side impact protection device in the region of the door frame.
The present invention relates to impact beams for motor vehicle bodies in general. The exemplary embodiment of the invention is a side impact beam for a side door of a motor vehicle body. The impact beam of the exemplary embodiment is configured to offer effective protection for the interior space of the motor vehicle body relative to the direction of any anticipated impact, which is essentially transversely to the longitudinal extension of the impact beam and to allow connection to the associated structural component of the motor vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art
It is already known to use a hollow profiled section made of steel or aluminum as an impact beam for a motor vehicle body, wherein starting from a pipe, the hollow profiled section is designed as a single-piece profiled steel section having high strength, robustness and deformation work, the end regions of the section being designed in a tab-like manner for attachment to the structural component, in particular in the motor vehicle door (DE 41 33 144 A1). The pipe can have a round, oval, or elliptical cross-section. It may also be possible for two pipes to be disposed next to each other relative to the direction of any anticipated impact.
An impact beam for a motor vehicle body, comprising two profiled pipe sections disposed next to each other relative to the direction of any anticipated impact, has already been further developed from a manufacturing point of view such that both profiled pipe sections are integrally formed of steel strip that has been brought into the target cross-sectional form by way of a roll forming method, wherein the steel strip forming the profiled pipe sections is fixed at the connecting points by a longitudinal seam weld joint (U.S. Pat. No. 6,591,577 B2).
It is also known not to produce the profiled sections as closed pipes, but to form them from sheet steel in the shape of a hat, such that the structures have a double hat form. The profiled sections are closed with a cover so as to create greater stability and rigidity.